Firefly
by Pyrinsomniac
Summary: Set between chapters 415 and 416. The immediate aftermath of the Tartarus arc. Oneshot, because everybody needs hugs after all that. Especially Lucy.


She feels like it should surprise her more than it does that Gajeel is the first to realize.

They're outside; the guild had limped their way back to what was left of Magnolia, but even as exhausted as they are, many of them don't want to go home. Lucy stopped by her apartment just long enough to bathe but she can't bear the thought of being alone right now, so she grabs a blanket and wanders over to Fairy Hills. She hadn't been alone in the impulse; Warren and Max sit shoulder to shoulder, and if they're speaking, it's telepathically. Laki stares blankly at the trees; Juvia leans against Laki's back and runs her fingers through Cana's hair, spreading the thick brown curls across her lap. Cana sighs in her sleep.

Jet and Droy are asleep in the grass beside Levi; on her other side, Gajeel is the first to notice Lucy's approach. He stands; Levi looks up at him and follows his gaze to Lucy. When Lucy snaps out the blanket, Levi helps her straighten it without a word and snuggles up next to her when Lucy sinks onto it. Gajeel mimics them, sitting closer to Levi than Lucy's seen him get to anyone except Juvia and Lily. His red eyes settle on the broken key on a necklace, resting in the hollow of her throat-

 _the suprasternal arch_ , _prompts a corner of her brain_

-but, catching her tension, he holds his tongue.

They sit in comfortable silence a while, and Lucy finds herself tracing constellations. It's an old habit; her mother had taught her about the zodiac this way, sketching out constellations in the sky and telling her about the spirits associated with each, describing the keys that she knew. Layla taught Lucy how to read out of mythology books and how to write by making contracts with spirits. Later, Belo- jii would come out with her, though he inevitably fell asleep.

Lucy has heard of security blankets, but the term always makes her think of the night sky.

"Ne, Lu- chan."

Lucy turns her head. Levi's solemn gaze belies the light tone of her voice. "Which of those is Aquarius?"

It's like a punch to the gut, and it takes Lucy a moment to keep herself from crying, to keep a tremble out of her reply.

"Aquarius' constellation is actually a cup, or pitcher. Here-" she traces it out with a finger, the smidge of golden light at the tip resembling nothing so much as a firefly.

But then she can't hold back the tears anymore, and she's gasping out apologies and trying to explain at the same time, and Levi's somehow gone from sitting next to Lucy to tucking Lucy's head into her shoulder. Lucy feels a weight on her head, and realizes Gajeel is ruffling her hair- or trying to, anyway. Levi's arms tighten around Lucy, and she tucks the golden head under her chin.

Lucy cries. Some corner of her mind is afraid the tears will never stop, but she can't even slow them; Gajeel's heavy hand moves from her hair to her arm, and though his looming behind Levi should feel intimidating, it's a comfort.

Levi herself is practically wrapped around Lucy, cradling her, and she doesn't say a word. Lucy cries herself out, and when she's finally exhausted past the point of tears, she feels Levi gently shift her until Lucy is prone, with her head in Levi's lap. There's a shiver of magic in the air, and Lucy feels a damp coolness on her sore eyes. She can hear Levi and Gajeel speaking quietly above her, the words indistinct and soothing.

She carries their voices with her into sleep.

When she wakes, she's in her bed. She shifts slightly; there's a sleepy murmur and a twitch against her arm. She glances down to find Happy snuggled up against her side… and a head full of unruly pink hair at her shoulder.

Natsu doesn't bother craning his head back to meet her gaze; he just presses a little more firmly into the mattress. Lucy slides to her side, bringing up one arm to cradle Happy and resting her other hand on Natsu's head. His hair is surprisingly soft, and her fingers move gently, slowly, like waves in the ocean on a calm day.

"Gajeel and Levi brought you back." he says quietly. "Erza got here first, then Gray and Juvia."

 _We didn't leave you alone_ , he doesn't say, but Lucy feels it anyway.

She doesn't have nightmares that night. In the morning, she doesn't kick Natsu out of her bed, and she does not trip over Juvia, Gray, and Erza snuggled together like puppies on the floor.

Lucy is similarly unsurprised that the jagged edges of Aquarius' broken key are now smooth, and the chain it hangs from feels somehow more solid.

When the others come staggering into the kitchen, drawn by the smell of food, there is something at once mournful and content in the depths of her eyes. "Thank you," she tells them, and only smiles slightly when they ask her what in the world for.


End file.
